


Slip

by Quinis



Category: Chuck (TV), White Collar (TV 2009)
Genre: Coma, Friendship, Gen, Ghosts, Neal is Bryce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:33:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28873875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinis/pseuds/Quinis
Summary: Neal begins to feel strange. He's slipping out of existence, although he's not certain why or how.Chuck is one of the few visitors to Bryce's hospital room in a super secret location. He's happy to see his friend finally waking up.A 'what if Neal Caffrey was ghost?' kind of story.
Comments: 38
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> New story. I've actually finished this one all the way and am trying something new with my way of writing and uploading. This is so that I hopefully don't burn out the way I did last year.
> 
> This story come from this idea: what if Neal was Bryce's ghost while he was in a coma?
> 
> Enjoy.

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Sometimes, when Neal went to sleep, he would hear voices talking to him.

"-, wake up, Buddy."

* * *

Chuck wished he could feel silly as he asked his old friend to wake up, but all he felt was sadness and regret. Bryce had been lying in this hospital for years without a name or a visitor. Now that they had found him, Chuck took some time every week to sit by his side. He would ask Bryce to wake up and then launch into stories from work and of his week.

Sometimes the work stories were best, especially when Jeff or Lester did something crazy. Sometimes, Chuck just liked telling Bryce about the newest game to come out and how he enjoyed, or did not enjoy, it.

* * *

Neal smiled and hummed softly to himself.

"I didn't know you liked mortgage fraud," Diana joked.

Neal immediately realised he was humming and stopped at the same time. He hadn't even noticed!

Hiding his panic under a smug grin, he commented, "maybe I'm trying to mess with Peter's head."

Thankfully, the joke landed as intended.

"Instead of being confused, I think Peter would just give you all the mortgage fraud cases, just to see how long it'd take until you crack."

Neal laughed with her. "True."

As Diana returned to her work, Neal drifted into thought. He was a conman, trained to control his emotional state. He wasn't supposed to just start humming for no reason.

* * *

Chuck was talking about the recent lost shipment at the Buy More. He got into the story as he described Morgan rushing around, hoping that Sam had just found the boxes and placed the merchandise out on the shelves without marking them off.

"He's running around, trying to be responsible and just crying out about 'the good old days', when he didn't care about work so much."

Chuck glanced at Bryce as he laughed at the memory. Then he choked as his heart jumped into his throat. Two blue orbs were staring unblinkingly back at him.

"Bryce!"

Bryce blinked. There was a button Chuck was meant to press - he needed to call a nurse or doctor!

Bryce recognised Chuck as his friend tried to soothe him. He didn't know where he was or how he got here.

The thought 'where's Peter?' floated through his head before a wave of tiredness made it fade into the back of his mind.

Action exploded into the room as noise and movement filled his vision. Bryce's body felt weak as he tried to summon the strength to move or fight back. But he couldn't even lift a finger. A moan made its way past his throat as his eyes closed.

* * *

Neal woke with a shudder. He was in his apartment at June's. The lovely lady herself was out on the balcony.

"Morning June," he greeted. He tried not to show how unsettled he felt. Something was off and he knew it but he couldn't quite understand what.

June jumped. "Neal! I thought you had left for work!"

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't see you in the apartment when I came to wake you."

Neal was sure he had woken up on his bed. The sheets had been tossed to the side so he should have been easy to see, as embarrassing as it would be to have been seen.

"I guess we missed each other," he laughed. He put aside his worries as he didn't want to worry June.

* * *

Mozzie hummed, deep in thought over what Neal just shared.

"So, you were in a hospital and people were there? And you're certain it wasn't aliens?"

Neal sighed. Mozzie has already spent a few hours talking about the aliens and how it sounded like the stories about alien abduction.

"I'm sure. It wasn't aliens but it was something else."

"Repressed memories from your time as a government experiment?"

"I'm not a government experiment, Moz."

"Not that you remember!"

"I'm not a government experiment!" He was certain of it. Why did the titles for multiple government programs and experiments come to mind? It wasn't long enough for him to understand why he knew them but long enough for him to know he was not one.

Not him.

Neal groaned and ran his hands through his hair. What was going on?

* * *

Bryce's body was numb and yet, it ached. It took effort to open his eyes, to catalogue everything for Moz.

Moz?

There was no one around, unlike the last time he could remember waking up. Bryce huffed, through a throat so dry, it was burning. He hated hospitals.

* * *

Neal rubbed his eyes and stumbled to his feet.

"Ahh! Ghost!" Water was thrown at him. He blinked water out of his eyes and wiped it off his face. His attacker was Moz, who had been apologising for tossing holy water at him but also rambling about how Neal had appeared from nowhere!

"I was asleep."

"The apartment was empty, Neal!" If Moz was saying it then, as strange as it sounded, it was probably true. "Maybe you are a ghost," Mozzie mused, "and the hospital you were dreaming of was your last moments."

The idea was disturbing. "I'm not dead, Moz." He couldn't dispute the ghost idea. After all, he had been gone and there was a hospital on the other side.

He couldn't hide much from Moz. "Chuck is the only name I remember, " he said. "Although I'm certain my name isn't Neal in these dreams."

"That's a shame, I guess," Moz knew that Neal was attached to his name. "Is Chuck new information?"

The other place felt so real that it was becoming disturbing. Even though he had been happy to see Chuck, it was probably time to start solving this issue.

"New enough."

Mozzie ignored the implication that Neal had been keeping information from him. "I wonder what the anklet does during that time," he mused instead.

"If it stopped transmitting or went outside my range, it would alert Peter." Maybe this was just some kind of strange sleepwalking. "The anklet might show me moving around."

"This is true. But the Suit won't just share that with you."

"He would. He has before." Neal liked to go for runs and he sometimes used his tracking data to find places he hadn't explored or been to in a while.

* * *

There was nothing strange with Neal's tracking data. Except that Neal had Mozzie's testament that he hadn't been in his apartment like the data said.

Neal felt tired. Why was this happening? He closed his eyes and felt like he was floating away...

* * *

And crashing to the ground. His stomach rolled and his head throbbed.

"Bryce?" Chuck. Bryce forced his eyes open, glaring at the world.

"Are you really-" his voice cracked and he coughed. It ached and brought tears to his eyes.

Chuck sighed and muttered a Klingon passage which roughly translated to 'I'm taking this as a personal challenge (or fight)'. Basically, Klingon was their way of identifying Chuck. And Chuck knew he wouldn't be able to use the same phrase as before because it was a reply and could be copied by anyone after it was used in a CIA facility. Anyone could try and mimic it but only Chuck was fluent.

"Chuck," Bryce croaked out. his throat continued to burn and his head throbbed.

"Hey Buddy, how are you feeling?"

"Not all here," Bryce answered.

"That might be the drugs."

Bryce's eyes narrowed.

"I know you don't like drugs," Chuck laughed. "But you were asleep."

"Not right now," Bryce huffed, eyes drooping. He was getting tired. He yawned. "Stupid drugs."

Chuck was grinning stupidly at him as his eyes closed. Chuck's mouth was moving but Bryce didn't hear what he was saying.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone. I wasn't expecting such a response since I hadn't posted anything in almost a year. I forgot to mention that I'll be posting new chapters every 3 days. At this rate, the tale will be told by the start of FEB as there's 5 chapters.

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Neal opened his eyes and his heart started racing. Either he was going crazy or he was dreaming. But it didn't matter which, he was running out of time.

"Moz, it happened again." Neal couldn't smile this time. "I'm going back to June's. Meet me there."

When this ended, Neal wanted Mozzie there.

He walked up to Peter's office and told him he was going to be sick. He spun a story of how he had passed out in the hallway and needed to go back to June's. Peter believed him but said he would come with.

"Can't have you fainting around June's with no one to look after you."

"That's why I called Mozzie." Neal saw the disbelieving look on Peter's face. No doubt he thought they were up to something. "Mozzie makes a good, although fussy, nurse."

"I'm sure." Peter sounded like he didn't believe him.

"Really! It comes from not relying on the health system and doctors."

Peter hummed as if made sense, even if he didn't agree with Mozzie's choices.

Neal sent a message to Mozzie, warning him that Peter was coming with him.

When they walked into the apartment, Mozzie was waiting at the table. He was rowing and had pages of notes in front of him. Neal sighed when he saw them. While he had given Mozzie the information to help in his search, sparse though it was, it still hurt to have Mozzie dig into his secrets.

Even though they were secrets to him as well.

"What's all this?" Peter asked as most of it was in a code he didn't know.

"I'm trying to unravel the government secrets that held Neal hostage."

"Government secrets?"

Neal didn't like the disapproving eyebrow raise.

"I know it's crazy but I've been having vivid dreams. I shared them with Mozzie and he started on this."

Mozzie nodded along, able to see that Neal was hiding that fainting and vanishing from the Suit.

"I have a new name to add," Neal said. "Bryce."

He did not want to add that it was his and he could use Peter's presence as a reason not to add that information.

"Bryce… and Chuck," Mozzie mused. "Not very helpful names. No last names?"

Neal shook his head. Peter also shook his head but for a different reason.

"Go to bed, Neal," he said. After all, Neal had said he was sick. "And leave Mozzie to his… research."

"I investigate more things in a day than you do," Mozzie said in offence.

Neal drifted off to the sweet tones of a conman and an FBI agent complaining about their work.

* * *

Bryce had been himself for two days now. He fell asleep to darkness, not to a world of conmen and FBI agents. He woke in the hospital, to days of physical rehab and visits from Chuck. Chuck bounced through the door with a grin. Bryce smiled back. He was touched by how happy Chuck was that he was awake; even though he mourned a life that seemed less and less real as time went on.

"Hi Chuck. No Sarah?"

"She's still not comfortable with seeing you awake after losing you again. You've got to stop dying."

"Agreed. It's not fun on my side either." Two days of being Bryce had caused Neal's life to fade like a dream as he recalled more and more. Knowledge and skills became easier and easier to recall, although he still retained knowledge of Neal's life that he hoped never fully faded.

"You've told her that I've moved on, right?"

Chuck laughed. "Yes. And she still wants to wait."

Bryce sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess she'll visit eventually." Or he'd be gone. It would be sad to not see her before leaving but he wasn't going to push.

"Well, it'll be difficult to not see you once you're discharged."

"Huh?" Were they doing a mission together or something? He hoped the CIA wouldn't put him back in the field that quickly.

"Bryce... you're staying at our place after you are discharged."

Chuck said it like it was a no-brainer but Bryce was floored by the easy offer.

"You never said. What if Sarah doesn't like it?"

"She can get over it."

Bryce stared at Chuck with his mouth hanging open. That was a very not-Chuck thing to say. Chuck laughed at his expression.

"She's already agreed. We can't have you running off to get hurt again until you've healed from this time."

"Oh." Bryce didn't know what to say. No one had really cared if he properly healed before. There may have been Mozzie and Peter, June and El, but they cared about Neal and weren't real anyway. "Thanks."

"Not a problem buddy! I have some new video games to introduce you to."

That sounded like a great distraction.

* * *

Living with Chuck was great. It was like going back to their college days but with the addition of an extra person. Sarah often ended up laying the straight man in their trio. Bryce was even able to coordinate their missions and monitor from the house.

The house has been a surprise. Not that Chuck had one, Bryce always knew Chuck would, but that he seemed to find the perfect one. It reminded Bryce of Peter's townhouse, just bigger because it wasn't a townhouse on a New York street.

A wave of sickness hit him and he sighed. It was stupid to be homesick for a life that didn't exist. He was a spy! He was supposed to change identities easily.

His moods hadn't gone unnoticed. Chuck suggested he get a job at the Buy More.

"I'm not exactly Customer Service material. I doubt your boss will hire me."

Chuck grinned. It was the same grin he used whenever he beat Bryce at 'Gotch'ya!'

"That's easy enough. You're a spy, you can handle acting the role of the perfect salesperson. And I own the Buy More so I can hire you."

"You own the Buy More?"

Chuck told him the grand tale of how he became the Shadow Owner of his own workplace.

* * *

Bryce tugged at his white collar. Being in the Nerd Herd was not where he imagined his career going.

How was he going to do this? Bryce might be a spy but rarely did that lead to customer service positions. Assets were the ones in those positions.

"Um, hello?" A nervous lady walked over to his desk. She clutched her laptop to her chest. "My computer isn't working."

Neal smiled. He wanted to smooth out her worries.

"Well, pass it here and we'll get it working." He took the computer and tried to turn it on. The screen remained dark. He prattled on as he tried a few different things, telling her what he was doing as he tried it.

He checked the brand and pulled out a charger.

It turned on! He left it for a few moments before pulling it out.

When the screen stayed on, he asked, "do you have a charger at home?"

"No! I bought it online. It didn't come with one and so it doesn't need it."

Neal hummed. "Your laptop seems to like this one," he hefted his charger. "buy you deserve something new. I'll cut you a deal on a new charger to get your laptop running, one that works just as well as this!" And he dashed off to grab one before she could say anything more.

* * *

"Wow, Bryce! You did good today."

Bryce gave Chuck a tired smile in return. Once he was free from work, he felt the energy drain from his body. It was tiring work and he had long stopped caring if he thought himself as Bryce or Neal during work.

It wasn't like the customers used his name. His co-workers still called him 'New Guy'.

Chuck was one of the few people who called him 'Bryce'.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just tired."

"Toughen up, Larkin." Casey had been listening.

"No one cares, Casey!"

"Don't fight, guys." Chuck stepped between them. "Even Casey had his growing pains when he first started."

"Isn't it normal to go home tired?"

"You go home?"

"Casey." Bryce was surprised at the tough of authority that entered Chuck's voice. He was a leader, just better at being commanding only when needed.

"I do, in fact, go home," Bryce snapped at Casey. Even if he spent most of the night out at bars and clubs, just soaking up the atmosphere. "I was home for game night." And when he was home, he was gaming. Or sleeping.

It felt like college all over again. Except he didn't enjoy sleeping as much now.

"On that note, Sarah wanted me to make sure you were going to be home for dinner tonight."

Bryce shrugged and went. Hanging with Chuck and Sarah was always good. He was strangely used to being a third to a couple. He didn't want to think about why.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

It was the weekend. Neither Chuck, Sarah or Bryce had work and there were no missions.

With a click and a snap, Bryce opened the lock puzzle.

"Done!"

Chuck pressed the timer, stopping it at 36:21:49.

"Not too bad," Bryce mused. He should have been able to do it faster next time. The gravity locks had been tricky to get right. "Although it's interesting that a puzzle we bought on the internet is trickier to break than a safe."

"The puzzles were made from passion; the safes from greed."

"It's strange. You'd think there would be less pay off to the puzzle," Sarah commented. She hadn't intended to watch the whole thing but she hadn't been able to look away.

"Safes are designed to protect while puzzles are designed to befuddle," Chuck said. "That difference is probably the reason for the increased payoff."

"I'd still prefer a good mission to this," Sarah's comment saw unanimous agreement from the others.

* * *

"Welcome to the off-site install," Chuck said as he motions towards Castle's impressive computer set up and conference screen.

Bryce snorted despite himself and the numerous times Chuck had made this joke. He liked Chuck's enthusiasm and found it contagious.

"Let's just find out what the mission is."

"Can't wait to get out of this hellhole," Casey grumbled.

"He doesn't mind it, truly," Chuck whispered to Bryce.

General Beckman appeared right away, looking as grave as always.

"This is a different mission to usual. Someone is looking into Bryce Larkin."

They exchanged worried looks. Even Casey looked disgruntled.

"Do they know he's alive?" Sarah asked.

"That's what we need you to find out. They've been good at hiding so far but we got a ping from the FBI building in New York."

White Collar. The name alone was enough to make Bryce's heart stop and an unwilling smile twitch onto his face.

"Do you have an idea who it might be, Agent Larkin?" Beckman demanded to know. Her voice shattered Neal's daydream.

"No."

"You were smiling," Sarah pointed out. Their gazes burned and Bryce wished he could disappear.

"Uh… I heard there's ex-NSA at the head of White Collar; a Reece Hughes."

Beckman's head snapped to attention. An interested noise hummed through the screen as she typed away; checking this information.

Every second that dragged on made Bryce sweat.

What if he was wrong?

What if he was _RIGHT_?

Beckman stopped typing.

"Hmm. So that's where that crafty man went."

"What?" Chuck sensed a story there.

Bryce ignored Sarah's inquisitive stare.

"I had to go through their FBI servers," Beckman said. "I could only get in thanks to the Piranha's backdoor into their systems."

Chuck preened. Bryce was certain Chuck hadn't given them all his ways in.

"Bryce is right?" Sarah questioned.

"Why would NSA go FBI?" Casey growled.

"He was FBI first. Then they forced him to retire and he came to us. He must have used his NSA position to get back into the FBI."

Bryce had heard it all before. But, he questioned his dream's ability to know things Bryce hadn't learnt.

He didn't have an Intersect, it would have done something before now.

"Reece Hughes was a legend during his time with us. That man had a way of getting things done."

"So, if he's looking into Bryce for some reason, he'll find him?"

"Sarah, you sound worried," Bryce pointed out.

"Of course, I'm worried. You don't know why he's looking for you."

Bryce suspected Hughes wasn't looking for him but Neal. Neal had given Peter his name.

"We don't even know if Hughes is the one looking for Bryce," Chuck pointed out.

"I vote we go find out," Bryce said.

* * *

Casey stayed behind. He had no interest in this case, not even if there was an ex-NSA involved somehow.

That meant that Chuck, Sarah and Bryce were on a plane to New York together. Bryce spent that time obsessing over the FBI files Chuck had downloaded for him.

Special Agent Clinton Jones;

Special Agent Diana Barrigan;

And Special Agent in Charge Peter Burke.

Everyone Neal remembered was there, except himself. Neal Caffrey wasn't real after all but… Suddenly curious, Bryce searched for files on the cases he remembered.

They were all there.

Every case.

Every note and translation Neal has made as well.

All credited to an ' _unnamed CI_ '.

"Are you okay?" Chuck asked.

"I'm not sure. This is a puzzle."

"I'm sure it's not the Ring or any of our other enemies."

"That's not as reassuring as you think, Chuck," Sara said. "An unknown enemy can be dangerous. Better to deal with the known than the unknown."

Chuck shrugged. He wasn't even certain it was an enemy. He reckoned that the FBI was just curious about Bryce Larkin.

While Bryce agreed that it didn't feel like the actions of an enemy, he also didn't voice it. He didn't know how to explain about Neal Caffrey, the ghost life Bryce had while in the coma.

* * *

They sent Chuck in. Bryce showing his face would be their last plan, only implemented when they needed to draw their opponent out. Besides, Bryce made himself useful forging Chuck's FBI ID. Chuck dressed in an FBI suit and Bryce bit back any complaints about the quality.

Was June also a real person? Did she have a wardrobe of suits from Bryce's fondest dreams? He hoped so.

Chuck didn't find anything interesting while searching.

"If someone from the FBI has been looking into Bryce, I don't think they've been doing it here," he mused. "There's no files on it."

"If there had been files, we could have found them during our computer sweep," Sarah reminded him.

Chuck sighed. "Then where am I meant to find physical files?"

Bryce gave him the instructions and was thankful that the Cyber Crimes division had a similar layout to the White Collar division.

Chuck looked through the files, glad that no one seemed to give him more than a cursory glance. He didn't have long and no flies gave him any information.

"This seems like a dead end."

"Do you want to try and meet with Reece Hughes?" Bryce asked.

Chuck didn't get a chance to answer. "Not today," Sarah said. "It's still too risky. We'll gather more information and then arrange a meeting."

Chuck slipped into the elevator. Standing next to him was a much shorter man in a hat. The man was tapping with nervous energy. Chuck tried to get a look at his face without the other noticing but the man was shifting too much for him to see.

Chuck was almost certain that this man's face wouldn't even be caught on camera.

"Which floor do you work on?" the man suddenly asked. Chuck jumped in surprise. He had thought that this man would remain silent while in the elevator.

"Uh… Cyber Crimes." Bryce had thought it would the easiest division for Chuck to fake being a part of.

"Don't talk to him!" Bryce's voice suddenly pierced through Chuck's earpiece.

Chuck couldn't respond without the man hearing so he turned away a little and pretended to be checking messages on his phone. And he sent a question mark to Bryce.

Bryce's response sent a chill down Chuck's spine. The man suspected that Chuck wasn't FBI.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Bryce left Sarah and Chuck back in the hotel room. Sarah was pacing while trying to wrap her head around this case. Chuck was digging around on the computer for more information. Neither of them was comfortable with the idea of going back in with the little amount of information they had.

Bryce had suggested making an appointment to see Reece Hughes and then left. He didn't care if they decided to or not, he just needed to avoid the questions about his knowledge.

He needed answers to the questions about his knowledge. As he was driven further and further away from the hotel they were staying at, the scenery became more and more familiar.

"Pull over here."

A familiar park outside one window and a large building outside the other. The gate was just as he remembered it.

He knocked on the door and held his breath as the maid answered.

"Could I speak with June?" he stated firmly. If June wasn't real and didn't live here then he could just joke that he had the wrong address. But if she was, then he needed to sound confident to be welcomed in.

The maid looked him up and down and Bryce tried to smile but knew it looked more nervous than he wanted.

After what felt like a long time, he was welcomed in. Neal waited in the parlour while the maid went to get June. Bryce had thought about the best way to approach this but June tossed his plans out the window. She took one look and recognised him.

"Neal," June breathed before inviting him in for a hug. Bryce hugged her back. "Where did you go? Mozzie has been frantically searching."

"It's a story," Bryce responded. "And I don't even believe it."

"Well, I'm all ears."

Bryce rubbed the back of his neck. He should be worried about how easy it was to slip back into Neal's life. However, it just made things easier and Bryce was glad he didn't have to explain. "To start with, my name is Bryce."

June hummed. "We thought as much."

"I had a feeling." Bryce chuckled with a pit in his stomach. He realised that someone here had tipped the CIA off as they conducted their search. "My employer isn't happy that people are looking for me."

"Too bad. What did they think would happen if you disappeared without warning?"

Bryce had to laugh at that one. "I don't think they realised what was going on. They didn't know they were taking me away from this." They were too concerned with keeping him alive.

June frowned but couldn't see any lie in what he was saying. "You're back now so I guess they're just going to have to deal. Your apartment is free, if you still want it?"

Something warm curled in Bryce's chest.

"Yes. Of course. I won't be able to stay there as much as I did as Neal as I have places to travel but I can pay you a proper rent now."

June shook her head. She wouldn't hear of it. It wouldn't do to start charging Bryce more than she did Neal. She gained much more than money from having him as a resident.

Bryce took June's hands in his. She was the best landlord a person could hope for.

"Now, I believe I owe Mozzie a phone call."

And the warm feeling vanished. "Must you?"

"Is there a reason I shouldn't? He was worried when you went missing."

Bryce sighed. "He's probably part of the reason I'm back. And I don't think he'd approve of my current employment."

June seemed to understand as she didn't pry more. Neal didn't try and stop her from contacting Mozzie though.

* * *

Bryce was surprised when Mozzie turned up with Peter right behind him. Mozzie quickly tested that he was real by using their passcodes. They would have to come up with new ones now that Peter knew them.

Peter hugged him, giving him a tight squeeze.

"This is completely surreal but nothing's normal when working with you."

"I have some co-workers who would agree with you," Bryce responded with a laugh, thinking of Chuck and his team. They wouldn't get suspicious of his whereabouts for a few more hours.

"Are you going back to working with the FBI?" Mozzie said with disgust in his voice. Peter grinned at this comment.

Now, that was an option. "That might be better than where I'm currently working."

"Which is?"

Bryce grinned. "At a Buy More."

As he expected, Mozzie threw up his arms and ranted about how Neal was wasting his talents slaving away for the Man.

"A Buy More?" Peter questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"A friend I have owns this particular store and offered me a job there when I woke up."

"'Woke up'?" Peter asked. Mozzie paused mid-rant to listen to Bryce's response.

"As you might have suspected, my name isn't Neal Caffrey. I'm Bryce Larkin and technically, we've never met."

"And yet, we have?" Mozzie questioned. He had probably already analysed this situation during many sleepless nights.

Bryce nodded. "We somehow have a history."

"Then why didn't we hear from you before now?"

"Because I thought that it was all a dream. What would you think if you had woken up to find out that you'd been in a coma, even though you could have sworn you were someone else, somewhere else?"

"It is a little out there."

"If I didn't remember Neal, I wouldn't have believed you," Peter said to Mozzie.

"That's because you have no imagination."

"If someone hadn't reached out to find me, I wouldn't have believed it real either."

They both gave him confused looks. "Reached out?" Mozzie questioned.

"Someone in White Collar altered us to their search for me," Bryce explained. "My boss' boss isn't happy about it."

"Because it doesn't make sense to have the FBI on your doorstep?" Peter questioned. "Did they think that you were in some kind of trouble?"

Bryce laughed. "Kind of. Look, I'll get everything cleared with my boss and then visit White Collar." Mozzie slumped. "Trust me, Moz. This isn't the kind of meeting you want to be in. Bug it or something."

"Hughes won't like that."

"Neither will my team," Bryce responded. "But it's important that Mozzie isn't there in person."

Mozzie huffed but didn't argue. "At least I don't have to enter the den of snakes." After a pause, he added, "but I will meet this 'team' of yours."

"Technically, you've already met the man in charge." Bryce was referring the Chuck's encounter in the elevator. The last thing Bryce wanted was Mozzie and Casey in the same room. He was glad the gruff man hadn't come. In a confrontation, Casey would kill the little man. However, should Mozzie start looking into Casey on his own, Moz could make the man's life very difficult. It was best to keep them far apart and unaware of the other's existence. If only Bryce could do that for Sarah as well. She wasn't trigger happy like Casey but she was just as untrusting.

Casey and Mozzie was easy to predict. The uncertainty of how Mozzie and Sarah would interact was much more worrying.

* * *

"There's something I need to tell you all," Bryce started, heart thudding in his chest. This wasn't a con or a mission. And, even though he had already explained it once to Beckman, it wasn't getting easier to explain.

On one side of the table sat Peter, Diana and Clinton. On the other sat Sarah and Chuck. Hughes sat at the other end from Bryce; at the head of the table. In a room of agents and spies, Hughes was somehow the most intimidating man there.

Bryce gave his name and then explained that there was a different name that the FBI agents knew him by. The ones gathered here knew of him and they had also realised that the greater FBI as a whole didn't remember Neal Caffrey.

"I can't tell if this is stranger than people having computers in their heads or not," Chuck mused.

"The brain being like a computer makes sense," Diana commented, wondering what Chuck was getting at.

Bryce's and Sarah's synchronised sighs reminded Chuck that discussion of the Intersect was banned at this meeting. Those gathered had clearance to know about Bryce but weren't cleared for anything else.

Chuck nervously laughed, "yeah. I guess Bryce's situation is pretty strange, right?"

"I'm just glad that the evidence is still there when you look for it." Bryce really didn't want to imagine a world where Peter and the rest existed without knowing him. Just the thought brought shudders down his back.

"We can't arrest Bryce so what's the purpose of this meeting then?" Jones questioned.

"We went looking for Bryce," Hughes admitted. "And now he's here to get us to stop."

"I'm not going to force you," Bryce responded. "Your goal is achieved, I'm here so there's no reason to continue."

"I'm the one who will force you to stop," Sarah insisted.

Chuck audibly slapped his forehead. "Sarah, don't threaten the FBI. They're reasonable people."

Sarah looked to Bryce to back her up but he was nodding along with Chuck's words.

"If we were interested in threatening them, we would have brought Casey," Bryce pointed out, once again glad that Casey hadn't any interest in coming with them. "Because we'd need both of you to even have a chance of threatening Hughes."

Sarah recalled everything they had been told about Hughes. "Careful, Bryce. I'm still coming to terms with how you kept this second life a secret."

"In my defence, it sounds crazy."

There were agreeing nods from some of the agents gathered. Bryce was glad for their silent support.

"Where do we go from here?" Jones asked.

Hughes shifted and all eyes jumped to him. "Bryce, do you have Neal's skillset?"

"Are you asking if I'm a criminal?"

"I'm asking if you can appraise, translate and basically complete tasks we gave to Neal?"

Bryce caught the shocked little shake of Chuck's head. It wasn't an intersect shake but something else.

"I have no clue." A white lie. Some of it he could do. Some of it he hadn't attempted since waking.

"Would you be willing to complete a test?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter.. I know this was a short one but at least I finished it. I'm finally starting to write again after burning out. I do have another fic in progress so hopefully there'll be a new story in a week or so.

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Chuck was hovering. It wouldn't be an issue, except Mozzie was loving it.

"I'm trying to concentrate," Bryce said, putting down his paintbrush. "Moz, there's a reason I usually have you do other things while I'm working."

"Charles is looking to learn. You might be agents for the man, but I won't ignore the thirst for knowledge this young one has."

"Chuck isn't that young. Also, he's a computer guy, not an art guy. Please stop commentating all my movements."

"I wouldn't have thought you were an art guy either," Sarah commented from the couch. At least she was mostly staying out of this. "Although Chuck doesn't seem surprised."

"I'm surprised!" Chuck insisted. "Bryce's painting looks just like the real one."

"Not yet." Bryce could only see all the differences which identified it as a forgery.

"We still need to bake it in the oven."

"Moz."

"Relax. I'm not telling them everything." Mozzie took the painting off the easel and disappeared with it.

"By the way, even as a copy, that painting is worth a lot," Chuck mused. "I'm surprised you didn't fund your way through college on copies."

"I didn't fully have the skills yet." Bryce ignored the way Sarah sat up, listening.

"Bryce. I saw your D&D character page. Not everyone could sketch up such a cool picture of their character." Chuck turned to Sarah. "Bryce did all the pictures for our campaigns."

"Yes, but it wasn't until I met Mozzie that I was given the instruction on how to use that skill set in forgery. Forgery is a crime too, Chuck."

Chuck shrugged it off. "Yeah, that would be more convincing if it wasn't the FBI asking for this painting."

"It is surprising that Chuck sees no issue with forgery but also that you have Neal's skills, Bryce."

Bryce spared a glance at the paint brush. "It is curious."

"I wonder if the Intersect had something to do with it."

"We'll probably never know." Bryce had to be realistic, they would probably never figure out how this happened. It's probably some kind of specific set of circumstances that would be impossible to replicate. "Let's just be glad it did." And that everyone remembered him.

* * *

Hughes looked over the painting. He pulled out a small magnifier and continued to examine it.

"Not that I'm doubting Hughes, but why aren't you examining the painting?" Bryce asked Peter. After all, there was a reason Peter was good at catching him.

"Hughes has just as much skill as I do in identifying forgeries."

"Then why did you need Neal?" Chuck questioned. Sarah hadn't come this time, choosing instead to tail Mozzie and see what he was up to. Bryce only allowed it because he knew Mozzie would eventually lose her.

"Neal had the best range of knowledge without taking a week to research an item. Hughes produced the list of paintings he wanted Bryce to try and copy; of course, they're all works for which he can identify forgeries."

Bryce remembered the list. He had thought that the FBI was requesting a number of copies when they handed it to him. He had held back from commenting that he could have done any of the paintings on the list. Being able to choose meant that he could stretch his painting muscles in the way he wanted.

Chuck smirked as Hughes announced that it was a passable forgery. "Looks like Bryce is the best now."

"Neal and Bryce are the same person."

Bryce was surprised that Peter could say that with no hesitation.

Hughes got their attention by explaining that he also wanted Bryce to do some translation work for him. He placed a number of different documents on the table. Bryce picked up the pen. He also ignored the disapproving look Hughes gave Peter and Chuck.

Each document was different. Different kinds of texts and in different languages. However, they were all languages that Neal, and also Bryce, knew. Bryce picked a few from the pile.

"I'm not doing all of these. Not unless you're going to pay me."

"Are you saying you can do them all?" Hughes asked.

Just watch me, Bryce thought with a smirk on his face. He grabbed the pen and started translating. He could almost translate everything.

"We were underpaying Neal," Peter commented as he looked over Bryce's translations.

"Neal was a criminal. His wage was based off what he would have made in prison. Because prison was the alternative."

Chuck glared at Hughes. Hughes ignored him.

"Bryce will be paid a proper wage befitting of someone of his skillset," Hughes announced.

"What?" Chuck gasped.

"I haven't accepted yet."

Peter's shoulders slumped as he glanced between Hughes and Bryce.

"We both know that the FBI atmosphere is better than the CIA's. And Peter won't take anyone else as his partner."

"What about Diana or Jones?"

"They work better with each other and I know it," Hughes said. "I have enough pull with the CIA to transfer you over."

Bryce looked over at his old friend. "Chuck? What do you think?"

Chuck frowned and Bryce's heart sunk. "How do you have pull with the CIA?" he asked Hughes.

"I did some work for them when I was part of the NSA. This is before I came out of retirement to re-join the FBI."

Chuck's eyes widened and Bryce could see the admiration grow.

"Chuck, you've literally stormed a CIA controlled area with Russian agents and saved CIA top brass a number of times. How are you impressed with Hughes' background?"

"Because there aren't many people like him! And you're impressed too!"

Bryce's tongue clicked. He thought he had managed to hide that. "You can't join the FBI, Chuck."

"But you can," Peter said. "There's a place for you here, Bryce."

"There are holes that Neal's erasure left. You can fill them in your own way. I should probably cash in my favours with the CIA before I retire officially anyway."

"Chuck?" Bryce knew that Chuck enjoyed them being together.

"I think it's an amazing opportunity. And we wouldn't be here if you weren't at least a little bit open to it."

"What makes you so sure?" Bryce knew his reputation was cold-hearted spy. It had thawed out a little; as had every agents' reputation who worked in Chuck's team. However, that didn't change the fact that many people had him pegged as a CIA career spy and little else.

"You were pretty excited to come here. And you were certain that the people searching for you weren't evil spies set on finishing the job the Ring started."

"I was not excited." It was important to him to clear that up. "But I am open to moving to New York. Sorry Chuck, but Burbank isn't New York. And have you seen June's apartment?"

Chuck couldn't figure out what Bryce liked about New York. It was just crowded to him. Too many cars, too many buildings and too many people. "I've seen June's apartment. Yes."

"Have you tried the coffee?" Peter asked.

"The coffee?" No, he had not. Although he had seen Bryce sipping a cup with a smile on his face. "Nevermind. All I want is to not be the one to tell Sarah."

"Sara?" Peter questioned, wondering when Chuck met the insurance investigator that was just as good at handling Neal as he had been. Hughes nodded like this was a wise decision.

Feeling his cheeks heating up, Bryce explained that Chuck's wife was also named Sarah. "Yeah, I'll do that." He swallowed just thinking about it but it would be a small price to pay to keep his 'coffee in the clouds'. Neal may have been some kind illusion or mass delusion but Bryce felt like these were things that he had earned. And they were still here.

"Consider it punishment for letting yourself get poached by the FBI. Casey will never let you live this down."

"If I play this right, I'll never have to see Casey again."

Chuck winced. "True."

Peter had that disapproving look on.

"That doesn't mean I don't want to see you and Sarah again, Chuck. It's just Casey that I'd rather not see."

"You two seemed to be getting along."

"He likes talking guns at me. You know 'all the better to shoot you with'. I get that he's still mad I survived that one time he shot me-"

"He what?" Peter growled.

Bryce and Chuck jumped.

"And now he'll never be able to come in here without getting lectured."

Chuck let out a laugh as he said, "fair enough. Casey certainly deserves that punishment."

Bryce nodded his agreement. "Also, there's some changes I'll make to Neal's life. Like getting a gaming computer. Can't believe Neal got around with just Mozzie's laptop."

"Oooh, a hacker-station!" Chuck squealed.

"No." Peter was quick to shut down any mention of illegal activities. Of course, he knew that Mozzie was still in the picture and that he probably had access to something like that but probablys weren't certainties.

"I can just buy a gaming laptop, Chuck. It's so we can play together without having to cross the country."

Chuck nodded, eager to say something but since it involved emulating console games on a computer, something the FBI had made propaganda about not doing, he kept his mouth shut.

* * *

The screen lit up with the welcoming screen before loading language/location selection.

"Ugh. I think Neal had the right idea," Bryce groaned as he started setting up the computer. Chuck's responding laugh sounded from the phone next to him. Bryce had moved back to New York while Chuck returned to Burbank. Ironically enough, they were keeping in better contact than they had done in years. There was an effort they put in when not working in the same place.

"You did plenty of these for the Buy More."

"No, I just gave them to Jeff. First boot of a Buy More laptop is idiot-proof. And boring." It was just click and wait for a new menu. Then click and wait.

"I'd be mad if I didn't do the same thing."

"Now I'm wondering if Jeff and Lester are actually hard workers and we were the slackers. Always taking time off for 'off-site installs.'" Basically, they were often away for CIA missions.

"How is working for the White Collar division?" Chuck asked.

Bryce hummed as he thought. It was a challenge. He had to show that he wasn't just some upstart young agent who had 'tricked' Peter into taking him under his wing.

Like he could trick Peter.

"I'm grateful that the White Collar division remembers me." Even if the rest of the FBI didn't seem to.

"They were the closest to Neal."

"I know. I think Mozzie has some theories about what happened to cause this double life of mine but it seems to have ended well and no one is trying to kill me so-"

"All's well that ends well?" Chuck commented.

"Pretty much."

* * *

Peter shouldn't have been surprised to see Bryce sitting at a computer, headphones on and looking frustrated, but he was.

"You need to go left, left!" Bryce frantically operated the computer. "Look, I can only see part of the compound and the target is about to head into the black spot- DON'T GO RUNNING IN! Chuck! Ugh!" Bryce ran a hand through his hair. "Hi Peter, I'll talk in a moment."

"Are you playing a game?" Peter questioned. He was glad for the coffee June had handed him as it helped him process this strange scene.

"I wish. At least then Chuck's 'gung-ho' style won't get him killed." Bryce clicked on a different comm. "Sarah, please tell me you're following Chuck." A pause. "Good. I'll…" Bryce groaned. "I'll stay on Casey then."

"So, can I ask what's happening?"

Bryce looked up from the screen. "Chuck's team is on a mission and they asked me to coordinate because they don't have the van for this one. I've muted my mic now because Casey doesn't want to hear my voice and I don't need to direct him at all."

"Why not?"

"Casey's a sniper. If he needs me, he'll tell me."

Peter really wanted to believe that this was some kind of video game but his gut told him it wasn't. "Sounds stressful."

Bryce nodded. "Especially since I thought we'd be done by now or I wouldn't have agreed." He then flinched and held up a hand to keep Peter from talking. "Really! Chuck got him? Good. Is everything clear? Can I go to work now?" Bryce sighed in relief and took off the headphones. "What?" he questioned, seeing Peter's smile.

"It's nice to see you working with a team."

"I work with Diana and Jones all the time."

"Maybe it's coordinating the team I like seeing."

Bryce smirked. "Maybe I'd do that if people stopped treating me like a rookie."

"Now, now, Diana and Jones know that there's more to you than that. They just like making you get coffee."

Bryce raised an eyebrow and stared pointedly at Peter's own coffee drink. Peter chuckled.

"Let's just get to work," he said to Bryce.


End file.
